NEW DELHI: There are clear signs of the V.P. Singh government resigning soon to order midterm election to Indian Parliament new bogged down with uncertainty, observers feel.

With no majority support built up by the ruling Janata Dal, the government had to look for help from the extremist Hindu Party, the B.J.P. on the one hand and pro-Moscow leftist parties, the C.P.(M) and the C.P.I. on the other. V.P. Singh’s position became tenuous after he was compelled by circumstances to throw out of the Union Cabinet Devi Lal, a popular peasant leader who with his traditional following showed his clout by organizing a massive rally last month.

The growing challenge of the authority was met by the Prime Minister by ordering 27 percent reservation in public services for “backward” castes in addition to the 22 percent already made available to the scheduled castes, the two categories together constituting nearly 70 percent of India’s population. The decision evoked a short and violent reaction from India’s upper castes, mainly Brahmins and Banias, who expressed themselves through their college and school going wards in major urban centers of north India.

While initially the upper castes controlled bureaucracy took no action against the violent student demonstrators, later the Army was called out in some states to assist the civil administration. The police too resorted to firings and lathi charges to control the situation. ‘The ‘Army continues to be in a stand by position at Shimla and Una in Himachal Pradesh. There have been widespread clashes in Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, and U.P. and in other northern States between the upper and lower castes. In central Bihar four persons were killed and 20 injured on September 10 alone,

This scenario has shocked Hindu fundamentalists who find the upper castes movement for building up temple at Ayodhya in place of a mosque greatly weakened. The temple issue was emerging as a rallying point for the upper castled Hindu militancy against Muslims and other minorities. The BJP and the RSS were lending an active help to the temple movement.

There are new indications that the Prime Minister will order the poll to take advantage of the support he has gathered from the scheduled and lower castes as against the BJP inspired threat to dismantle the Babri mosque and to comer Hindu votes. The Congress (I) is far from enthusiastic about the election so early.

Thus the issue that is bound to be projected by the ruling group in the event of an early poll will be the reservation in services. The BJP, on the other hand, is set to call for Hindu mobilisation around the Ram temple issue. The Hindu fundamentalist groups have set October 30 as the deadline for the commencement of construction work on the temple.

Instead of taking advantage of the cleavage, most Sikhs have been content to make the obvious statements that Sikhism does not recognize castes. Indirectly, this position drives the scheduled and lower castes away from Sikhs. It virtually amounts to playing to the upper castes Hindu tunes. However, it was left to the Panthic Committee to set the record straight by boldly supporting the scheduled and backward castes political stand. Interestingly, S.S. Mann/bemoaned the emergence of “caste wars” in India.

Article extracted from this publication >> September 14, 1990